Translink Corporate

2000 extra seats per week on NI Railways trains from Portadown to Belfast

28 November 2018

Translink has announced an extra 2000 seats per week on trains from Portadown to Belfast as part of a range of service enhancements.

Each weekday morning, an extra train will leave Portadown at 6.20am calling at Lurgan, Moira, Lisburn and all stops to Belfast, before continuing to Carrickfergus.

In addition, the 7.20am departure from Portadown to Great Victoria Street will double in capacity, from 200 to 400 seats.

Translink’s General Manager, Rail Services, Richard Knox said: “These enhancements will lead to an extra 400 seats each weekday morning, or 2000 per week from Portadown, with trains operating every 20 minutes between 6.00am and 9.00am to Belfast, as is the case with the evening peak.

“This timetable change, which comes into effect on Monday 10th December, sees departures from Portadown at 6.00am; 6.20am and 6.40am rather than 6.00am and 6.30am.”

Richard continued: “The following enhancements will also come into effect: Saturday morning train leaving Newry at 7.05am will collect passengers in Portadown at 7.30am, arriving in Great Victoria Street at 8.04am; Saturday night 11.35pm departure from Great Victoria Street to Portadown, with a first stop at Lisburn; and a new Sunday departure from Belfast Lanyon Place at 5.29pm, calling at all stations to Portadown.

“We continually review and adapt our services and network to ensure we continue to provide our passengers with a high quality service – and strong growth of 7.2% on the Portadown line since April shows the need for additional capacity.

Richard concluded: “This extra capacity will benefit ‘smarter’ travellers who are looking for a better way to commute; to get more ‘me time’ and enjoy a more active and healthier travel option compared to the car. We have recently opened a new 347 space Park and Ride facility at Portadown and this has been positively received by our customers. We are delighted to announce this increased capacity and additional service for our passengers, who choose to make Translink ‘Your First Choice for Travel in Northern Ireland’.”

Full details on the timetable enhancements are available on the Translink website: www.translink.co.uk or through our Journey Planner.